User account menu

Main navigation

Is that plastic?

3 Oct 2014 - 00:00
to 10 Apr 2015 - 00:00

Skeuomorphs and metaphors in design

Plastics are a group of materials with no intrinsic shape or colour, this gives designers free reign to exploit their unashamed ability to imitate other materials. This exhibition explores how designers and manufacturers use plastics to create illusions by mimicking the patterns, processes, and physicality of other materials such as ceramics, glass, and fine metals. Plastics provide a less expensive, lighter, whimsical, or more robust alternative.

skeuomorph

An object or feature which imitates the design of a similar artefact made from another material.

Computing - An element of a graphical user interface which mimics a physical object: note-taking apps offer skeuomorphs of yellow legal pads, squared paper, ring binders, etc. when you first load up the app, you’ll be presented with a skeuomorph of a photo album.